Girls tennis: Oneida beats Cazenovia to advance to final

ONEIDA - During Todd Hicks' first five years as Oneida's tennis coach his teams made the sectional final four times.

After a five-year hiatus, Oneida will return to the final Wednesday.

Hicks' team rallied to beat Cazenovia 5-2 Monday to improve to 22-0 and earn a trip to the championship. Oneida will face another unbeaten squad, Jamesville-DeWitt (13-0), in the final Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. at the Mott Tennis Center on the Memorial Parkway in Utica.

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The hosts were in a hole early, thanks to Cazenovia's Elizabeth Palmer. Palmer, fresh off winning the singles crown in last week's Class C tournament, beat Oneida's Emily Fitzgerald 6-2, 6-0 in first singles to earn the first point.

"(Our) doubles played extremely well," said Hicks. "We had a different combination because one player's out of town."

The Lakers were able to take one doubles point from the hosts. Cazenovia's Sally Langan and Edie Connor took the first set 6-3 over Kasia Kinsella and Samantha Lusher in second doubles. Lusher and Kinsella took a 2-1 lead in the second set, with both players making two excellent plays at the net to earn the advantage. Langan turned things around for the Lakers, playing well at the net while Kinsella missed several opportunities for Oneida. Langan and Connor won four straight games to take the second set 6-2 to end their match.

It was all Oneida from then on.

Jillian Brodock took the first set over Taylor Mimms 6-2 in third singles. Mimms rallied in the second set, hitting several shots' out of Brodock's reach. The set was tied 2-2 when Brodock adjusted and began playing closer to the net.

The move paid off as the Oneida freshman made several great plays to take the lead. Brodock hit a perfect drop out of Mimms' reach to win the match 6-4 and earn Oneida's second point.

Cazenovia's Rebecca Marsch and Claire Chanatry, like Langan and Connor, got off to a great start, winning their first set against Claire Mancarella and Jenna Russ in third doubles. The Oneida duo rallied to take the second set 6-1. In the third set Oneida jumped out to a 3-0 lead that took the wind out of the Lakers' sails. Mancarella finished the match with a great serve that Cazenovia couldn't handle.

Minutes later Rachele Markle sealed Oneida's trip to the final. Markle took the first set 6-1 over Grace Gara in second singles. Gara appeared to have an advantage in the second set, opening up a 4-3 lead. Oneida's junior rallied to take a 5-4 lead, but Gara wouldn't give in and tied the match. Markle took a 6-5 lead shortly after Mancarella and Russ won their match. Gara again rallied, winning back-to-back points to keep the visitors hopes for a trip to the final alive. After a long rally, Markle hit a great forehand that Gara couldn't reach to win the game, set and match for Oneida.

"I'm extremely happy that we got those two singles points right off the bat," said Hicks.

Connie Froass and Jenna Didio also had to come back to earn the final point for Oneida in first doubles. The duo dropped the first set 6-2 to Kelly Furlong and Sienna Lints, but came back strong and won the second set 6-0. Froass and Didio fell behind 4-1 in the third set, but again rallied and came away with a 6-4 win. Didio ended the match on a strong note, smashing an overhand shot to win the final point.

"The team played with a no-lose mentality," said Hicks. "It showed in first doubles; they played great."